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Bahamas Foreign Affairs Ministry responds to RFK Center statement
By Bahamas Information Services (BIS)
Nov 8, 2014 - 4:42:02 PM

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Bahamas, Nassau - The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center) recently issued a statement about reports it claimed it received from Bahamian civil society about the new immigration policies that came into effect on Saturday, November 1.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration confirmed that representatives from the RFK Center never contacted the Ministry for comment but released the following statement in response:

"The statement by the RFK Center over the new immigration policies is replete with errors. It is deplorable that a reputable body would repeat such nonsense.

The policy is not discriminatory either in its execution or its effects and there were no massive raids. No raids were conducted by the Department of Immigration at all. The number of people arrested on Saturday last (Nov 1) was not 450 but 77. It is not true that those released had to await the opening of the Immigration Office on Monday.

Those are just some examples of a statement that is loose with the truth and defames The Bahamas. The statement is terribly disappointing. There is a rule in Bahamian folk tradition: if you don't know shut your mouth. If you want to know, just check.

This is a completely open and transparent society, with nothing to hide"



 

FOR EASE OF REFERENCE, A COPY OF THE RFK STATEMENT IS PROVIDED BELOW:

November 7, 2014 | Washington, D.C.)

Kerry Kennedy and Santiago A. Canton, on behalf of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), express alarm at the discriminatory use of new immigration policies in The Bahamas. According to information received by the RFK Center, immigration officials conducted massive raids and arrests in Bahamian-Haitian communities over the weekend of November 1-2 and have increased their presence around public schools with large populations of students born to immigrant parents.

On November 1, The Bahamas instituted a new immigration policy that requires all non-nationals residing in the island nation to show evidence that they have permission to live or work in the country. Under the Constitution, children born in Bahamian territory to foreign-born parents are eligible for Bahamian citizenship when they turn 18; until that time, under the new policy, they must obtain a passport from their parents' country of origin. According to reports from Bahamian civil society, children born in The Bahamas to migrant parents were given 30 days' notice to apply for and secure a passport from the country of origin of their parents or face expulsion, despite the significant financial burdens this new policy imposes and with no consideration for an ordinary processing time of over two months to secure a passport in some cases.

While the government of The Bahamas insists that the measures are not aimed at any national group, Bahamian civil society organizations have related that officials are targeting immigration raids at neighborhoods where the population is predominantly of Haitian descent. The RFK Center received a report of at least one government-run school that, as of Monday, started to require students to bring their identification with them in order to access the classroom.

"Statehood is a fundamental human right, but these reports indicate that the Bahamian government regards it as a tool for discrimination," said Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Center. "These new policies mean that thousands of children in the Bahamas now live in fear of arbitrary arrest or deportation. The Bahamas must immediately fulfill its obligation to protect children-no matter their status, and no matter their ethnicity."

Media reports indicate that about seventy people were detained over the weekend, but Bahamian civil society puts the number closer to 450, and describes detention conditions as overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation. Many of those detained on Saturday, November 1, were forced to remain in custody until the immigration office reopened on Monday and they could prove their valid status. Many were not provided the opportunity to seek legal counsel, apply for asylum, or appeal their deportation orders.

"The reports coming out of The Bahamas indicate that the government is endangering the human rights of people in immigration detention, including the right to due process and the rights to humane treatment and health,"said Santiago A. Canton, Executive Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights. "The government must immediately bring its immigration policies and practices in line with its binding international human rights obligations."


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